Deleting Dax

Chapter Zero

I tore myself from the seat, spinning off it with a reflexive jump – half-expecting the streamlined leather recliner to lunge after me. The restraints were gone. Instinctively, I moved my hands to my head – no open wounds, but the pain lingered, a pulsating heat radiating from my ears. In a panicked rush, I examined my arms; there were no marks, yet I could still sense the metal against my skin, digging in. 
Had it all been something I imagined? The only thing I knew for sure was that I had a sickening headache working its way along the inside of my skull.
The air in the room was stale and metallic, carrying a faint chemical tang, as though it had been recycled one time too many. Confused, I staggered towards the door, desperate to escape this silent tomb. My brain hurt, throbbing with every breath I took, expanding, contracting, my thoughts flowing like the blood rushing through it. I steadied myself against the door handle. 
Then I heard the voice. Not from inside the room – no – it was coming from inside my own mind.
Operation successful. Cognitive substrate acquired. 
Organic host: male, mid-forties.
Muscular control latency: acceptable.
Purpose: locomotion and environmental access.

The sound echoed. Cold, almost clinical, nothing like my NexEar’s soft voice. I turned around, hoping to find someone standing behind me, speaking, but there was no one. The motion made me dizzy, and I grabbed for the door frame, fighting to steady myself. I pushed down the handle, letting the cooler air from the hallway flow inside, before I stumbled into the corridor, relieved to have escaped what must surely have been a nightmare.
Out of breath, I shut the door and crumpled to the floor, my back pressed against it, making sure nothing could escape from the lab behind me.
The voice spoke again. I could sense it emanating from some place deep inside my mind.
Designation: mobility.
Vessel is structurally viable.
Emotional resistance noted. Will bypass.

I did a quick double-check, but my ear canal was empty. I wasn’t even wearing my NexEar. My insides turned to ice. Who was speaking to me? And how? The pounding of my heart was relentless, hammering against my rib cage.
Inhibiting cortisol spike.
Suppressing motor resistance.
Redirecting blood flow to stabilise cognition.
Blocking adrenal surge. 
Re-routing executive functions to secondary control layer. 
Vessel no longer in command.

As the voice spoke, my heartbeat slowed and my body began to relax. But it wasn’t right. I wanted to panic. I needed to panic. If there had ever been a reason to spiral out of control, this was it. Still, my body refused to respond. My breath maintained its steady rhythm, no matter how hard I fought it.
‘What... what is happening to me?’

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